BABI by Mohammed Hassan

BABI

Written by Mohammed Isa

Mohd.h.aai@gmail.com

FADE IN: SUPER OVER BLACK: “ANTARCTICA. PERMANENT HUMAN POPULATION: 0” Sounds of LASERS, WHOOSHES, EXPLOSIONS. A superhero fight. One EXTREMELY LOUD EXPLOSION. Got it!

RONNIE SHARP (V.O.)

BILLY SHARP (V.O.) Yes! Now get the hell outta there! One last LONG WHOOSH before the battle noises quickly dies down, fading into the distance. CUT TO: INT. HI-TECH SUPERHERO SUIT - DAY All around are futuristic dials, rapidly increasing and decreasing numbers, fluctuating bars, and other diagnostics in advanced control panel displays. Everything is in blue. Wearing the hi-tech suit is the dashing RONNIE SHARP, mid to late 20s, physically fit, flowing silver hair and beard stubble. He’s sweating bullets, exhausted from the fight. The suit’s rectangular screen in front of him - the mainscreen - broadcasts live video of what’s outside: Antarctica, nothing but ice as far as the eyes can see. He’s flying over it. BILLY SHARP (V.O.) Keep going, keep going! You need to drop out of their radius. They won’t be able to pinpoint you after that. Just a bit further left. RONNIE SHARP What’s it like over there? I couldn’t see anything once the flames went up.

BILLY SHARP (V.O.) Complete annihilation. All that’s left from their site is rubble. You did it. RONNIE SHARP The suit took quite a few hits. Might need some work. BILLY SHARP (V.O.) Do we know the damage? RONNIE SHARP Babi, dispatch camera drone 4. BABI (V.O.) (the suit’s AI voice, female, raspy) Camera drone 4 dispatched. RONNIE SHARP Reverse by 180 and start broadcast. The suit’s mainscreen turns black for a split second before coming back, now displaying the suit at an awkwardly tight angle. Nothing visible but titanium. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) Switch to wide view. The view expands, now showing the Iron Man-esque suit in the center of the screen, flying forward over the icy terrain in breakneck speed. It’s covered in dust, soot, and dents. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) I can’t tell from in here... I’m in the middle of nowhere. How much further do I have to go before I’m out of radius? BILLY SHARP (V.O.) Yo--- go--- s--- we--- cate--- b--RONNIE SHARP Billy? Billy, can you hear me? I think I’m losing transmission. SUDDEN BANG. Came from outside. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) Babi, what was that sound?

BABI (V.O.) Audio transmitter no longer functional. Why?

RONNIE SHARP

BABI (V.O.) Audio transmitter no longer attached to suit. RONNIE SHARP Yeah, that’ll do it. Screw this. Babi, plot route to HQ, display course on screen. OMINOUS WHIRRING SOUND. All the dials and other control panel elements around him suddenly change to green. What the-

RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D)

BABI (V.O.) Unidentified malfunction detected. Cloud services disconnected. Suit losing altitude. System now running on standard battery mode. The screen shows the suit’s titanium legs now flying lower, dangerously close to the ice. RONNIE SHARP Run deep diagnostics. BABI (V.O.) Deep diagnostics unavailable in standard battery mode. RONNIE SHARP Run basic diagnostics. BABI (V.O.) Basic diagnostics unavailable in standard battery mode. RONNIE SHARP OK... Run exterior flush cleanup. BABI (V.O.) Flush cleanup unavailable in standard battery mode.

RONNIE SHARP Run... run... heater. BABI (V.O.) Heater function already running. RONNIE SHARP Increase heater by five digits. BABI (V.O.) Heater controls available under advanced functions. And?

RONNIE SHARP

BABI (V.O.) Advanced functions unavailable in standard battery mode. RONNIE SHARP God damn it! Well, what functions are available in standard battery mode? BABI (V.O.) Entertainment Suite. BEAT. And?

RONNIE SHARP

BABI (V.O.) Entertainment Suite available in standard battery mode. RONNIE SHARP God damn it, Billy. You really went cloud happy, didn’t you? He closes his eyes, trying to concentrate. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) Try... Try, um... What about the navigaSound of ICE CRACKING. The whole suit shakes. He opens his eyes again and looks at the screen to see: The suit now SKIDDING ALONG the ice.

The heavy shaking is unbearable. He squeezes his eyes shut as he endures. AAAAH!

RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D)

It stops. He opens his eyes to see: The mainscreen showing that the suit has finally come to a halt, now lodged into the broken ice. BABI (V.O.) Unidentified malfunction detected. All navigational functions disabled. Suit is stationary. RONNIE SHARP Ah, great. Just one of those days where I have to step out onto the Antarctic ice. Fun never stops. Babi, do you know the temperature outside? BABI (V.O.) Last recorded temperature: minus eighty degrees Fahrenheit. RONNIE SHARP God. Alright. Is thermal jumpsuit installed? BABI (V.O.) Thermal jumpsuit ready to be equipped. He tries to move his hand from the titanium wrist grip attaching him to the suit... but can’t. He tries to move his legs from a similar titanium grip. Also can’t. Only his neck can move. RONNIE SHARP I can’t move my hands... or my legs... Why can’t I move my body? BABI (V.O.) All hybrid motion sensors deactivated. RONNIE SHARP I’m paralyzed from the neck down! Override motion sensors!

BABI (V.O.) All hybrid motion sensors deactivated. RONNIE SHARP Then let go of me! Do it now! BABI (V.O.) Advanced functions unavailable in standard battery mode. RONNIE SHARP But... wh... what’s... BEAT. It finally dawns on him. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) Babi, how much time remaining on standard battery? BABI (V.O.) Standard battery at 97%. Time remaining: 57 minutes. RONNIE SHARP List all functions that will stop when standard battery expires. BABI (V.O.) Current functions operating on standard battery mode: Camera drone 4, Camera drone 4 backup video transmission feed, mainscreen, Entertainment Suite, sound theater system, Bluetooth, chamber lights, heater, control panel displays 1 through 4, Oxygen chamber circulation, Beyond and Beyond Incorporated AI Voice Operating System (B.A.B.I.). He laughs, helpless to do anything else. RONNIE SHARP (to himself) Mother of mercy. Is this the end of Rico? BABI (V.O.) Voice command unclear.

He stares at the mainscreen in silence, looking at the lonely, icy world outside. RONNIE SHARP I don’t suppose you can run a thermoscan for living organisms within maximum radius. BABI (V.O.) Thermoscan unavailable in standard battery mode.

RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) Thermoscan unavailable in standard battery mode. Yeah, yeah.

He hangs his head, defeated. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) This is it, then? Well. If I’m gonna go, might as well go the way everybody else wants to go. Got any tips on how to induce sleep? BABI (V.O.) Searching for ‘sleep’... 1 result found under ‘Encyclopedia, offline entries’. RONNIE SHARP Figures. Damn it. Think, Ronnie. Think... Babi, list all current operational functions again. BABI (V.O.) Current functions operating on standard battery mode: Camera drone 4, Camera drone 4 backup video transmission feed, mainscreen, entertainment suite, sound theater system, BluetoothRONNIE SHARP Search for Bluetooth connections within maximum radius. BABI (V.O.) Searching... zero Bluetooth connections detected. RONNIE SHARP New instruction: Keep Bluetooth connectivity on and run a search for connections within maximum radius every five minutes.

BABI (V.O.) Instruction saved. RONNIE SHARP OK... What else, what else? He looks again at the mainscreen. Still nothing but ice. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) Open Encyclopedia. Search for ‘Antarctica’ in ‘offline entries’. BABI (V.O.) Entry found. Displaying homepage on mainscreen. The mainscreen’s view changes to a Wikipedia-esque page displaying text and images about Antarctica. RONNIE SHARP Read it to me. He closes his eyes, concentrating on Babi’s voice. BABI (V.O.) Antarctica is the southernmost continent on Earth. It has a total area of 5.5 million squareRONNIE SHARP Stop. Search within sub entries for ‘human habitation’. The page jumps to a section titled ‘Human Habitation’. BABI (V.O.) Sub entry found. RONNIE SHARP Read it to me. BABI (V.O.) Due to its unforgiving climate and terrain, Antarctica is the only continent with no permanent human settlements or population. However, it temporarily hosts a number of visiting scientists every year. RONNIE SHARP Stop. Search... search within sub entries for... ‘climate’ and read.

BABI (V.O.) Antarctica is the coldest continent on Earth. Average temperatures throughout the year is about minus seventy degrees. During the winter, temperatures can go to as low as minus one hundred and thirty degrees. RONNIE SHARP Open... Try... He opens his eyes and lets out a big sigh, defeated. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) Screw it. I know when I’m beat. Switch mainscreen view back to camera drone 4. The mainscreen reverts back to the view of the suit stuck in the ice. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) I guess it’s just you and me at the end, Babi... You know, it’s funny. I must have stared death in the face a hundred times. I’m not afraid of being killed in battle. Yet, right now, I’m terrified of dying. He looks reflectively at the icy world outside. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) It’s this place. The loneliness. Quiet. Cold. Is this how veterans feel after the war? Nothing but a long silence? He looks at the green control panels all around him. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) Your kind had better not become sentient. For your sake. Because this waiting to die business... It’s just not it... How much time remaining on standard battery? BABI (V.O.) Standard battery at 89%. Time remaining: 49 minutes.

10.

RONNIE SHARP Even if I could reach Billy, I doubt he’d be able to pinpoint my location in time. Nothing to do but get comfortable... You win, Babi. Open Entertainment Suite. The mainscreen changes to a simple splash screen video with the title ‘ENTERTAINMENT SUITE’. Then changes to a big unorganized list of folders with random titles such as: ‘Assorted crap’, ‘eBooks (no audio)’, ‘Games I can’t stop playing’, ‘Movies (every one ever made)[[from 1915-]]’, ‘Music - only the good shit’, ‘Photos (best ones)’, ‘Programs’, ‘Standup (must tell Ronnie about Seven Words)’, ‘TV Shows (GOT Season 2 ep. 8 missing!!)’, etc. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) What the... Babi, scroll down. How much space is all this taking? BABI (V.O.) Total size: one plus Petabyte. The screen slowly scrolls down, showing more of the same jumbled mess. RONNIE SHARP Good god, Billy. I only stopped using this thing for a month! No wonder there’s nothing else on standard battery mode. The hell is a Petabyte? One of the folders catches his eye. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) Open folder ‘Photos’. The screen displays thumbnails of many photos. BABI (V.O.) Twenty three thousand four hundred and fifty seven photos found in folder. RONNIE SHARP Of course. Play slideshow. A slideshow plays, showing each photo within 5 second intervals as Ronnie looks on, smiling:

11.

- Ronnie and BILLY SHARP, early 20s, classic tech-nerd glasses and haircut, stand proudly next to the superhero suit. - Billy sits in the center of a room, in deep thought, surrounded by hi-tech gears, microchips, and other miscellaneous parts. - Ronnie, on holiday, shirtless, wearing sombrero, holds a cocktail drink in one hand, gives the peace sign to the camera with the other. A large Pause icon appears in the center of the screen. BABI (V.O.) One Bluetooth connection found. Ready to pair. RONNIE SHARP Pair, pair! BABI (V.O.) Pairing established. RONNIE SHARP Record voice to text message and send to paired number. A blank pop-up message appears on top of the paused slideshow, text cursor blinking. The letters form as he dictates the words. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) This is Ronnie Sharp period stuck in ice period pinpoint Bluetooth source period send help period hurry no time period L O D period. Send message. The word “SENDING...” starts blinking inside the message box... and blinking... and blinking... RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) Did you send it? BABI (V.O.) Bluetooth connection lost. RONNIE SHARP Ah, f... Was message sent before losing connection?

12.

BABI (V.O.) Advanced functions unavailable in standard battery mode. RONNIE SHARP God damn it! Ah, no, no, no... Must have been one of those visiting scientists... Doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter. They probably won’t be able to get to me in time either. He’s contemplative. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) I wonder if there’s another way to register on everyone’s radar... Heat. I need to generate a lot of heat. Their equipment should be able to pick up the signal. Heater maybe? Even if I could, without that or the thermal jumpsuit, I’ll probably die in a few seconds anyway. Damn it. He takes a second, contemplating in silence. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) Babi, run... Ah, damn it, I keep forgetting these. List all operational functions again. BABI (V.O.) Current functions operating on standard battery mode: Camera drone 4, Camera drone 4 backup video transmission feed, mainscreen, Entertainment Suite, sound theater systemRONNIE SHARP Stop. What’s the highest decibel available for the sound theater system in standard battery mode? BABI (V.O.) Sound theater system is limited to 70 decibels in Safe Hearing mode. RONNIE SHARP How many decibels available without Safe Hearing mode?

13.

BABI (V.O.) One hundred and sixty five decibels. RONNIE SHARP A hundred and sixty five... Sounds a bit high, no? Babi, open Encyclopedia, search for ‘hearing’ in ‘offline entries’ and then search for ‘ruptured eardrums’ in subentries. BABI (V.O.) Sub entry found. Read it.

RONNIE SHARP

BABI (V.O.) Extremely high noise intensity can be immediately damaging to hearing, causing ruptured eardrums at one hundred and sixty five decibels or more. RONNIE SHARP Oh, it’s a match. How cute. So... I max out the sound... for the offchance someone will hear it... but I’ll go deaf... Babi, switch to main camera view. The mainscreen view reverts to the camera showing what’s ahead: Nothing but ice as far as the ice can see. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) Who am I kidding? No one’s close enough to hear it. Dead end again. That’s what I get for being hopeful. Anyway, better go out listening to good music than live a pissed off deaf guy, right Babi? BABI (V.O.) Voice command unclear. RONNIE SHARP Just resume slideshow. The mainscreen reverts back to the slideshow, the pause icon still on the last photo.

14.

It turns into a Play icon. The slideshow continues: - Ronnie sitting up in a hospital bed, his arm in a cast, Billy sits next to him, they both smile at the camera. - Ronnie and Billy dressed in tuxedos, Ronnie holding up an inebriated Billy whose hair is disheveled and glasses are about to fall off, Ronnie laughing. - The hi-tech superhero suit with the top head chamber removed, showing Ronnie inside. - A playful photo of Billy taken from behind his back at a high angle up close, his neck stretched backward and face is upside down as he smiles back at the camera. Stop.

RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D)

Ronnie takes a second, composing himself. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) Go back. Open folder ‘Music’. The mainscreen shows the huge list of music track titles. BABI (V.O.) Two million three hundred and forty five thousand and nine hundred and ninety nine tracks found. RONNIE SHARP Check for a folder named ‘favorites’. BABI (V.O.) No folder found with that title. BEAT. RONNIE SHARP Access deleted files from Music folder. BABI (V.O.) One track found. RONNIE SHARP Retrieve file. BABI (V.O.) File retrieved.

15.

Play.

RONNIE SHARP

BABI (V.O.) Now playing: All Alone. The somber comedy song “All Alone” by Lenny Bruce starts playing. LENNY BRUCE (V.O.) All alone... All alone... Like a nearsighted dog, where’s the bone? Aw but it’s better to be all alone... No more taking out the garbage, hear her yacking on the phone... I gave her everything... Even my mother’s ring... RONNIE SHARP Keep music playing and access deleted files from Photos folder.

LENNY BRUCE (V.O.) But to me, she was petty... Sometimes, I wish that she were dead...

BABI (V.O.) One file found. RONNIE SHARP Retrieve file. LENNY BRUCE (V.O.) But it’d probably take her 2 hours to get ready... Open it.

RONNIE SHARP

The mainscreen shows a photo of a WOMAN, mid to late 20s, innocent, warm features. She sits, arms wrapped around her knees, behind Billy, who’s busy working on some machine parts. Even though she’s smiling at the camera, there’s a mysterious sadness about her. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) Zoom on upper left corner. The photo zooms in on her face. He’s moved by it.

16.

LENNY BRUCE (V.O.) When she’s old, then she’s gonna be sorry... Yeah, that’s it, her future spells a murky gloom... I’ll be rich and famous, and she’ll be living in a furnished room... But it’s gonna be too late, I wouldn’t hear her moan... I’ll be living in my Nardville mansion, rich and all alone... All alone... All alone... I’ll be rich but so... all... alone. He lowers his head, closes his eyes but the tears still escape. BEAT. BABI (V.O.) Zero Bluetooth connections detected. He laughs. Breath vapor escapes out of his mouth. He’s taken aback. He exhales, testing. More breath vapor. RONNIE SHARP Is the heater still operational? BABI (V.O.) Heater is operational. RONNIE SHARP Then how... He stretches his neck forward and looks down at his feet to see: Ice water slowly seeping in through a crack in the bottom of the suit. It starts filling up, water getting closer and closer to his immobilized feet. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) Oh no... Switch mainscreen view to camera drone 4. The mainscreen changes to show the drone’s POV:

17.

The superhero suit’s titanium boots now sunk into the broken ice. God...

RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D)

Suddenly, the view drops from top to bottom, now showing the sky - the drone must have fell down onto the ice and its camera is now facing upwards. BABI (V.O.) Unidentified malfunction detected. Camera drone 4 no longer operational. The mainscreen goes black. BABI (V.O.) Camera drone 4 backup video transmission feed no longer operational. His breathing gets faster, more vapor now coming out of his mouth, shaking from the freezing cold. Go back.

RONNIE SHARP

The mainscreen reverts back to the woman’s photo. He looks again at her. His nerves turn to steel, eyes focused, despite the chattering teeth and shivering body. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) C... Continue slideshow. The mainscreen reverts back to the slideshow, still showing the last photo of Billy. Then shows the next photos in queue: - The superhero suit flying in the air, shooting laser beams. - Billy at a steakhouse with a napkin bib on, holding knife and fork, about to dig into a huge steak. Ronnie sits opposite him, turning around to face the camera, smoking a cigar. - Ronnie holding a selfie stick, pinching his nose as if disgusted by the smell. He points to the background behind him, where Billy is inspecting burnt wires of a retro arcade game. This catches Ronnie’s eye.

18.

The slideshow loads up the next photo, another action shot of the superhero suit flying in the air. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) Wait. Go back. The mainscreen goes back to the photo of Billy playing the arcade game. Ronnie’s mind wanders, teeth still chattering. RONNIE SHARP (CONT'D) Game... Game... Yes! B-b-b, Babi, Op... Open ‘Games’ folder. The mainscreen shows two folders, one titled ‘Retro’ and another titled ‘Crap’. BABI (V.O.) Ten games found. Sound theater system no longer operational. RONNIE SHARP Open ‘Retro’ folder. Come on, come on. The folder opens, showing three game titles: “PacM (MOD!)”, “TETR”, and “Tic Tac Toe (UNFIXABLE!!!!!@#$%)”. BABI (V.O.) Three games found. Bluetooth no longer operational. Heater no longer operational. All the control panels surrounding him turn from green to red. BABI (V.O.) Standard battery at 9%. Time remaining: 9 minutes. Ronnie shivers from the merciless cold, but only from the neck up. The rest of his body still paralyzed behind the titanim grips. He looks down again to see the water is now touching the sole of his shoes. This jolts him into a renewed sense of urgency. RONNIE SHARP Launch Tic Tac Toe. Hurry!

19.

BABI (V.O.) Unable to load game. Why?!

RONNIE SHARP

BABI (V.O.) Game’s software incompatible with Beyond and Beyond Incorporated AI voice operating system (B.A.B.I.). To launch the game, you must log out of B.A.B.I. and revert to the old operating system. RONNIE SHARP OK... Log out. BABI (V.O.) You can only log back in using manual override. Are you sure you want to log out? Ronnie looks down again at the rising water, now consuming his shoes. Do it!

RONNIE SHARP

His surroundings get dimmer as the chamber lights turn off exactly when the system is logging out. BABI (V.O.) Chamber lights no longThe same OMINOUS WHIRRING SOUND. All the futuristic control panels around him disappear. Other than the light of the mainscreen, he’s now in complete darkness. The mainscreen changes to a primitive DOS-style text input system. PRIMITIVE COMPUTER GENERATED VOICE (V.O.) Wel-come. En-ter comm-and. The computer types up the words as he slowly pronounces each letter. RONNIE SHARP T-I-C... T-A-C... T-O-E... Enter.

20.

Err-or. S-K-I-P.

PRIMITIVE COMPUTER GENERATED VOICE (V.O.) RONNIE SHARP

The screen changes to a game of Tic Tac Toe. Each of the 9 squares are numbered 1 to 9. PRIMITIVE COMPUTER GENERATED VOICE (V.O.) Red-ee too play. X, 5.

RONNIE SHARP

An X forms in the 5th square at the center.

O, 8.